Pillars Of Eternity 2: Blow the Man Down - Walkthrough Pillars Of Eternity 2 Guide and Walkthrough

Last update: 20 November 2022

This page contains our walkthrough for Blow the Man Down side quest found in Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire. This is one of the more complex side quests. Your goal is to find and get rid of a pirate called Benweth - he is responsible for the crash of the main character's ship that happened at the beginning of the game. During this quest you will have to visit a pirate fort. You can eliminate Benweth in a few ways, e.g. by fighting him, sneaking into the fort or luring him out by using a ruse.

• Unlocking the quest and reaching the fort
• Confronting Benweth by using a ruse
• Alternative ways of reaching Benweth
• Epilogue

Unlocking the quest and reaching the fort

You can't miss the moment of starting this quest. This quest is received from the leader of Principi faction, Furrante. His ship sails towards yours automatically after leaving the "starting" island, Port Maje. During the conversation with Furrante you can let Serafen to take a look into your mind, you can defend yourself from this action and let Serafen join you or you can refuse. These choices have no impact on the unlocked quest.

This quest should be continued after gaining a few more levels. It is possible to end this quest without spilling blood. However, a stronger party can protect itself when a fight breaks out and make the conversation with Benweth easier. Fort Deadlight is your destination. Save your game before sailing there - you have to make an important choice here:

1. Raising Principi flag and docking in the port. This is only possible if you have Pricipi Colors in your inventory. You should have them if you haven't sold them to one of the merchants or you didn't drop them. Otherwise, you can get this flag, e.g. during exploration or after sea battles with pirate ships. Raising the flag is the best way of reaching the fort - you will get inside without any fights. Also, this solution allows you to freely move around the main part of the fort.
2. Sneak into the fort during a night. The party moves to a small beach in the south. There, you can examine the fort's wall and climb it without any using any items (requires Athletics test - fail it and you may receive an injury) or you can use a rope with a grappling hook. The party reaches a window and enters the armory in the dungeon.
3. Attack the fort. Here, you must prepare yourself to get shot by cannons, even before you reach the fort. Success of dodging these shots depends on your helmsman's skill. It is probable that your hull can receive a lot of damage or it can even get sunk (game over). Even if you manage to reach the fort, you will have to fight with every pirate inside of it. This is the worst variant because it forces you to kill everyone in this location. Fights can be challenging and you can kill characters that would otherwise be able to talk with you, e.g. during a quest or in order to trade.

Confronting Benweth by using a ruse

The first variant, out of those mentioned above, is your best choice. It allows you to meet with Benweth or to kill him in a clever way without a need of facing other pirates. Start by reaching the main room of the fort (M34,6). Meet with Mirke and ask her about Benweth. You learn that the captain can go down to the room if he hears a loud party. It is up to you to prepare this party - find two quest items.

Mirke's first request is to find a special type of rum. Go to the eastern ramparts (M34,3). The entrance to the upper ramparts is guarded by Ancret. Follow Mirke's suggestion to provoke her by mentioning Snake Eyes Condwen. After that Ancret will leave her outpost. You can now access the upper ramparts.

Here, you should send only a single party member with highest Stealth. You have to reach the crane (M34,7) and open the small locked chest presented in the picture above (it has a level 2 lock). Inside, you will find God-Killer's Rum. This area is patrolled by pirates - getting detected initiates an unwanted fight with them. Deliver the rum to Mirke.

Mirke's second request is to get a special soup. Leave the room and reach the entrance to the dungeon located in the south part of the fort. The kitchen (M34,8) is your destination. Head north. You don't have to sneak here - many of the guards have already went to the room where the party is.

Speak with Cookie Maina and receive Special Stew. Go back to Mirke. Save your game before you give her the stew - the situation in the mess can develop in a few possible ways.

Benweth appears in the room after giving Mirke the stew. The captain plays on the piano and then he stands next to it. You can now act in tow ways:

1. Kill Benweth. You can attack him immediately but this will turn every single pirate in the room against you. It is better to speak with him first and use Intimidate 4 or Diplomacy 4 to discourage some of the pirates from joining the fight.
2. Reaching an agreement with Benweth. This option allows you to avoid killing the captain and is only possible if you speak with him in the right way. Speak with him and use a highly developed (3-7 points) Intimidate / Diplomacy / Streetwise / Athletics to intimidate him or to speak to his reason. Benweth tells you that he won't hunt you anymore.

This quest also has an alternate solution. You can place a Cinder Bomb inside the piano. You have to do it BEFORE you give Mirke the stew. If you don't have a bomb, you can search for it in the fort or you can buy it from No-Nut Ned (M34,3). The bomb explodes when Benweth sits next to the piano. This method allows you to avoid confrontation with other pirates.

Note - Search Benweth corpse after you kill him. You can find, e.g. a unique Miscreant's Leathers armor.

Alternative ways of reaching Benweth

There are other ways of catching Benweth, e.g. by sneaking into the command room or by killing all the pirates in the fort.

Choose the second option (infiltrate the fort during night) to sneak on the captain. You start on a small beach (M34,2). Pass Athletics test (note - failing it can lead to an injury!) or use a rope with a grappling hook (the scripted interaction presented in the picture above) to reach the armory in the dungeon (M34,11). Then, you have to use the stairs and sneak near the forge (M34,9). After that you have to reach the western stairs that lead to the highest floor (donjon).

Another method is to sneak to the eastern ramparts (M34,3). After that you will have to avoid a few guards and reach a gate with level 8 lock. Open them and use the stairs to reach the eastern part of the highest floor (donjon).

The default location of Captain Benweth is the command room (M34,17) (the picture above). Once you reach that floor (by relying on stealth or breaking through pirates), you can open the door to that room (it has a level 5 lock). You can also explore the eastern corridor (M34,16) and find a hidden switch.

Epilogue

After completing this quest, you can talk in Dunnage with Captain Furrante about Benweth. His reaction will be different, depending on whether you killed Benweth or left him alive. From Furrante, you can get a unique Cloak of Protection (+5 for fortitude, reflex and will).